


The Power of the Internet

by keishouta



Series: it's rotten work being with me [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Pining, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26057296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keishouta/pseuds/keishouta
Summary: The digital age strips Sakusa of his privacy.
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Series: it's rotten work being with me [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822786
Comments: 3
Kudos: 407





	The Power of the Internet

The headline of the article reads "Sakusa Kiyoomi and Miya Atsumu Fall in Finals".

_In the highly-anticipated finals of the Volleyball league, the MSBY Black Jackals fail to meet audiences' expectations. They take second place on their home court, only losing by a close margin. Starting opposite hitter, Sakusa Kiyoomi, takes an uncharacteristically clumsy fall in the third point of the first set. Setter, Miya Atsumu, is substituted out together with him and the missing of the two players early in the game leads to the team's downfall this season. In the post-match interview with MSBY's coach-_

"Ya still readin' that, Omi-omi?"

Sakusa whips his head up from the screen and slams his phone down onto the couch. "No."

Atsumu rolls his eyes. "I told ya not to read it if ya were just gonna get angry!"

"I can't help myself," Sakusa grumbles. "What did coach say?"

"Nothing important," Atsumu answers indifferently, spinning his phone between his fingers. "The others asked if ya were okay though."

Sakusa decides to pretend he did not hear his coach's voice from the speaker all the way through the wall. "Tell them thanks, we're fine."

Atsumu plops noisily down on the couch next to him. "If I had known ya were gonna be this upset, I would've stopped ya from-"

"I'm not upset," Sakusa retorts defensively.

Atsumu flashes him a shit-eating grin. "Sure, Omi-Omi. I believe ya."

"Get out of my house."

Atsumu grabs his stomach in a burst of laughter. "Yeah, yer definitely feelin' better now."

There is a brief silence, and then Sakusa asks, "Why did you want to take care of me?"

Atsumu's eyes widen slightly at the question. Then, he just shrugs his shoulders. "Because we're teammates. Setter's gotta take care of their spiker."

"You're insinuating the others aren't my teammates," Sakusa says.

"Touché," Atsumu gives him a unimpressed look. "Because we're friends?" he offers.

"Now you're insinuating the others aren't my friends."

Atsumu slaps his forehead and groans. "Do I need a deeper reason to take care of ya?"

Maybe Sakusa wants there to be a deeper reason, but he drops the subject.

It is safe to say that after the incident, Sakusa unconsciously finds himself more comfortable with Atsumu because he has basically seen him at his absolute worse. The rest of the team picks up on this, and one day when he is switched from rooming with his captain to Atsumu on away games, nobody bats an eyelash.

Meian respects Sakusa's space. He keeps a safe distance, cautious to never step into his personal bubble. Miya Atsumu, on the other hand, tests his limits. He touches him for a split millisecond as he brushes past him and occasionally leans too much towards him, but always pulls back before it turns into discomfort. The way he enters Sakusa's personal space never feels invasive but rather, overwhelmingly considerate.

Sakusa unloads his bags on the hotel room's designated luggage holder. Atsumu dumps his on the floor next to it. Sakusa slips into the shower, Atsumu flops onto his bed with his phone. After Sakusa steps out, Atsumu wordlessly flashes him a bright smile and takes his turn in the bathroom. Everything falls into place without much need for discussion.

Sakusa learns that Atsumu sleeps like the dead, completely still and impervious to any sound. A couple metres away, Sakusa tosses and turns, and he does not feel bad about it like he used to with his light sleeper of a captain.

They win their game. The team celebrates at a nearby bar, and Sakusa feels good enough to join them. The alcohol gives him a small buzz, and when Atsumu slings his arm over his shoulder in a tipsy stupor, he lets him keep it there.

In the morning, he tells Atsumu he stinks and all he gets back is a chuckle and a nice catch of his painkillers. On the bus ride home, the sleeves on their elbows touch and neither move away.

Sakusa thinks he might have fallen into a deep, inescapable hole.

\---

Sakusa finds himself searching up his name again after that day, despite his brain's better warning against it. And then his team name. Then his members' names. He reads articles full of praise and reviews far too critical. He stumbles upon his teammate's Instagram profiles. Bokuto's - crammed with pictures of animals and Akaashi. Hinata's - full of food shots and volleyball videos. And Atsumu's - an array of... 'alluring' selfies.

He digests comments about himself, both negative and positive. He finds videos and pictures of his most recent game, where he had a panic attack in front of everyone. It makes his lips curl in disgust, but he plays the video anyway, and watches himself fall and get pulled out of the match. Reality settles in, and it hits Sakusa like a bus that this is not something he can hide from the prying eyes of the public anymore. The whole world has seen him have an anxiety attack, and the video exists to ensure it lasts forever in history. It is no longer a secret, and his behaviour will be analysed for days to come. There is a hungry abyss in his stomach and it threatens to eat at him.

He does not search up his name any more after that, and throws himself into practice. He decides that people do not deserve to comment on his mysophobia if his skills are undeniably good. And undeniably good, he will be.

His team, to his despair, notices. Thomas comes over to him and tries to reason with him, but it falls on reluctant ears. Meian cuts the team's entire practice time just to prevent him from overexerting himself and Sakusa fumes at the fact that his problem is now affecting the other members. This was never what he wanted. When the others leave the gym with worried expressions on their faces, Atsumu, the one who tests his limits, stays behind. Sakusa wants to yell at him to get out, to leave him alone, but the last thing he wants to do is succumb Atsumu to words he would regret later, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Atsumu breaks the silence first. "Ya still think about that match, huh?"

It feels like the setter's eyes are boring right into his soul. It is fruitless to lie so he nods with honesty, though it pains him to admit it.

"I thought ya were the type to not care what people think," Atsumu says.

Sakusa fixates on the floor. "I am, but in this case it's more about what I think."

"And what do ya think?" Atsumu presses.

Sakusa exhales harshly. "I feel naked. Exposed. Pitied."

"I don't pity ya. Not one bit."

Sakusa scoffs, "Then what do you call it when you help me out?"

"Respect," Atsumu answers easily.

"You're full of shit, Miya."

Atsumu remains unfazed. "Omi, I know it's easy to start listening to what people say about ya online, but ya really shouldn't. Trust me, I know that the best outta everyone on the team, and ya know that too."

Sakusa chews on the inside of his cheek. "Sometimes, it's just too tempting," he whispers.

Atsumu gives him a small smile. "I know, but the next time ya get the urge, go do something else, okay?"

Sakusa looks up at him. "Like what?"

"Like.. come annoy me!" Atsumu spreads his arms out, as if he's inviting him for a hug. "I am here and I love to be annoyed!"

It seems so simple, Sakusa does not expect it to work at all, but it surprisingly does. On a Saturday when his fingers are itching badly to type his name into the search bar, he texts Atsumu, meets up with him and utterly annoys him to death. And at the end of the day, Atsumu laughs, tells him he had fun and to annoy him again.

And so Sakusa does. He annoys Atsumu every week and then he annoys him every alternate day. And if at one point, it turns from needing a distraction to simply wanting to spend time with him, Sakusa would never confess to it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think!


End file.
